Ultrasound Neuromodulation Inhibits Seizures in Acute Epileptic Monkeys

• Main Authors: Junjie Zou, Long Meng, Zhengrong Lin, Yangzi Qiao, Changjun Tie, Yibo Wang, Xiaowei Huang, Tifei Yuan, Yajie Chi, Wen Meng, Lili Niu, Yanwu Guo, Hairong Zheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-05-01
• Series: iScience
• Subjects: Ultrasound Technology; Medical Imaging; Neuroscience
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220302510

Summary: Ultrasound stimulation has recently emerged as a non-invasive method for modulating brain activity in animal and human studies with healthy subjects. Whether brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and depression can be treated using ultrasound stimulation still needs to be explored. Recent studies have reported that ultrasound stimulation suppressed epileptic seizures in a rodent model of epilepsy. These findings raise the crucial question of whether ultrasound stimulation can inhibit seizures in non-human primates with epilepsy. Here, we addressed this critical question. We confirmed that ultrasound stimulation significantly reduced the frequency of seizures in acute epileptic monkeys. Furthermore, the results showed that the number and duration of seizures were reduced, whereas the inter-seizure interval was increased after ultrasound stimulation. Besides, no significant brain tissue damage was observed by T2-weighted MR imaging. Our results are of great importance for future clinical applications of ultrasound neuromodulation in patients with epilepsy.